- Статьи
- World
- Shared anxiety: will Arab countries be able to help Syria in the fight against terrorists
Shared anxiety: will Arab countries be able to help Syria in the fight against terrorists
A number of Persian Gulf countries may be interested in supporting Syria in its fight against terrorists, experts interviewed by Izvestiya said. The UAE has already declared its support for Damascus in its fight against extremism and defense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability. The Syrian army has consistently repelled attacks by terrorists from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who launched an offensive against government forces on November 27. Support for Damascus has already been expressed by Iraq, Jordan, Iran and the League of Arab States (LAS). The expert community stresses that Syria's neighbors in the Middle East are ready to help Damascus, as they consider the Idlib terrorists a security threat to the entire region.
What the terrorists are trying to achieve in Syria
The army of the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR) reflects the attacks of militants, who since November 27 have intensified their onslaught on the government forces. On December 1, the Syrian command reported about the strengthening of forces in the Hama province located south of Idlib, from where the extremist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia) and its allied groups launched their first attacks.
According to the Syrian Armed Forces General Command, the army managed to take control of a number of neighborhoods in Hama, the most important of which were Qalaat al-Madiq and Maardas. Dozens of terrorists were destroyed there. The situation in the province itself, according to local authorities, is now under control. Governor Kamal Barmo said on December 1 that reinforcements have already arrived. At the same time, government agencies and companies in the region are operating as usual.
Meanwhile, the situation in Aleppo is not easy. On November 30, the Syrian army reported that it had to regroup its forces in order to save the lives of civilians and soldiers when repelling a terrorist attack. Now the SAR troops are preparing for a counterattack. According to Iranian media reports, so far the terrorists are partially in control of Aleppo, trying to advance to the south. The Iranian consulate, in particular, has already been attacked. According to EFE agency, thousands of foreign terrorists with heavy weapons and drones are involved in the attacks on Aleppo.
According to some reports, Ukrainian military personnel are also among the mercenaries. It is worth noting that back in October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Kiev, in coordination with the United States, was training terrorists from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in new drone production technologies in order to fight against the Russian army in Syria.
In the meantime, government forces are seeking to strengthen their positions in the Aleppo neighborhood. On Sunday, it became known that Syrian aviation disrupted the extremists' offensive by striking a convoy of armored vehicles on the M-5 Aleppo-Damascus highway. The Russian Air Force is also providing support: on November 30, the Defense Ministry reported the elimination of at least 300 militants during the day. Militias from the Kurdish "People's Self-Defense Forces" are resisting the terrorists. According to the local newspaper Al Watan, they managed to repel an attack on the suburb of Bani Zeid in the northwest of Aleppo.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed confidence that his country would defeat the Islamist attacks. "Terrorism does not understand any language except the language of force, and this is the language with which we will break it and destroy it, whoever its supporters and sponsors are," the Syrian leader's office said Dec. 1. Syrian media noted that about 1,000 terrorists have been killed in the past three days.
Radicals are pursuing the goal of overthrowing the current government in Syria, notes Grigory Lukyanov, a researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Center for Arab and Islamic Studies.
- They are talking about a complete seizure of power, reorganization of all aspects of society, liquidation of the ruling Baath Party and the military leadership of Syria. They seek to establish and spread throughout the country the norms and laws that currently exist in Idlib," the expert told Izvestia.
At the same time, he believes that although the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants managed to take the Syrian troops by surprise, they obviously failed to achieve their desired goals. It is quite possible that not everything they managed to seize will eventually be retained, the analyst said.
Arab support for Syria
Some countries in the region have already supported the Syrian forces' fight against terrorists. On Sunday, it became known that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi urgently intends to visit Damascus. It is noteworthy that the UAE, the former sponsor of the armed groups that previously fought against the government forces in Syria, sided with Bashar al-Assad from the very first hours of the attack on Aleppo. On Nov. 30, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed support for Syria in the fight against terrorism and extremism during a telephone conversation with Bashar al-Assad.
Iraq has also pledged to help Damascus in its fight against militants. Neighboring Jordan on Sunday also expressed support for Syria's territorial integrity, sovereignty and security. The Arab League (LAS), whose membership Damascus renewed in 2023, also expressed its concern over the developments. "Developments in Syria open up many possible scenarios, including chaos, which terrorist groups will use to resume their activities," the LAS emphasized.
Amid the turbulence created by the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip and the fighting in Lebanon, the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf are interested in making sure that a new hotbed of instability does not appear in Syria, Grigory Lukyanov believes.
- They see these groups as a threat. This creates potential opportunities to create a broad coalition to counter Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and finally solve the Idlib problem. The gray zone in Idlib that has persisted in recent years between Syria and Turkey has no longer satisfied anyone and has not allowed the political process to move forward. In the conditions of the current breakthrough with sufficient consolidation of regional forces, we can expect that even if not quickly, but the solution of the conflict in the military plane will move from the dead point, and a positive dynamic will be formed, the result of which will be the destruction of the Idlib enclave and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham," said the orientalist.
Meanwhile, support for Syria is now limited to the sanctions that the US and other Western countries have imposed on Damascus in recent decades. However, in 2023, after a powerful earthquake, many countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, provided assistance to Syria, and some of the sanctions were temporarily suspended in the interest of providing humanitarian support to the population.
- "In the current circumstances, the situation is critical, and with sufficient political will, the leadership of the Gulf countries will find an opportunity to provide the Syrian government with the necessary assistance to fight Hayat Tahrir al-Sham," said Grigory Lukyanov. - They can send military supplies, financial aid, and this will be in demand given the current balance of power on the ground.
However, the Gulf monarchies do not have a collective position on supporting Syria. Each country will act to the extent that it suits its national interests.
- The UAE would like to see stabilization and normalization. They could provide humanitarian assistance if needed. Saudi Arabia is just observing for now," Ivan Bocharov, program coordinator of the Russian International Affairs Council, told Izvestia. - At the same time, no one will interfere in the situation as they did in 2011. The situation was quite different then. Many believed that the official government was about to fall, but it did not happen. Since 2015, everyone began to take into account the Russian factor in Syria.
The Russian Federation continues to provide diplomatic and political support to Damascus. Thus, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has already discussed the situation in Syria by phone with colleagues from Turkey and Iran. It is noteworthy that the United States also called for de-escalation of the situation, assuring that it had nothing to do with the offensive of terrorists from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
